Tourists' royal moment

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Meeting the Prince of Wales was a great thrill for Kangaroos captain Cameron Smith and ARL Kangaroos tour officials Andrew Hill and Gareth Holmes, who spent an hour with Prince Charles on Tuesday.

Representatives of all 14 competing World Cup nations and tournament organisers attended the reception at Clarence House.

When leaving the function, Prince Charles stopped beside Andrew Hill and asked that he "say hello to Sydney for me".

"Meeting Prince Charles was a great honour for Gareth, Cameron and myself representing the Australian Rugby League Commission," Hill said.

"The period of waiting in the reception room was a very nervous experience for all three of us, but the prince was very relaxed and he casually spoke to us about a number of things including Prince Harry's neck injury and the Sydney bushfires.

"The prince was very engaging and interested in the Kangaroos and the tournament so far... he asked Cam about his injuries and the position he played. He also asked if there were any injuries from our first game.

"He asked about our travelling medical staff and how they have looked after Harry in the past, plus how things were at home and if we were affected by the fires."